‘…. The escapism afforded by the books can dilute the urge to pass time by engaging in criminal behavior. Libraries can even prepare prisoners for reentry into society after release, arming them with knowledge to pursue careers.

People like “free.’ People like getting free content from other people who paid for the content. Long live the free-loader, long live the person who spends $20 in time and gas looking for a free parking spot instead of paying $10 for a paid space! It’s the principle, isn’t it?

But sometimes getting “free” is about the journey and the satisfaction earned when putting one’s search skills to the test. Here’s one way to do both, from Aaron at Musings about Librarianship:

Maybe we need a political party named “Better Candidates.” Most of us would vote for “Better Candidates” in our local elections, too. Sigh. In the meantime, these popped up during my morning tour of our interweb estate:

“….Having just left the locker room after his team’s victory over the Broncos in Denver on Sunday night, Tamme wrote: “I showered after our game but I feel like I need another one after watching the debate.” [Link to NYT article.]

The BBC news magazine reports on this anniversary and links to their 1948 radio broadcast recording of the original 31 August 1946 New Yorker Hersey article. which was the only article the New Yorker published in that edition.

Coincidentally, when I went hunting for my copy of Hiroshima, I found it next to my yellowed paperback copy of “The Bridge of San Luis Rey.”

‘…. Upon arriving at the law department at the University of Iceland, I inquired about information regarding environmental/elf cases. “Which ones?” the law librarian responded. “There are so many!” The most current controversy involves a case in which the Supreme Court of Iceland has issued a stay. The news was picked up in the United States by the Associated Press and the major television networks in December 2013 as a Christmas human interest story with headlines such as “Iceland’s Hidden Elves Delay Road Projects” and “In Iceland, Elves Have a Strong Lobby.” ….

Andri Snaer Magnason, commented: “Some feel that the elf thing is a bit annoying,” adding that personally he was not sure they existed. “However,” he added, “I got married in a church with a god just as invisible as the elves, so what might seem irrational is actually quite common with Icelanders.“….’ [Link to full article.]